Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Photo: VNA) They reviewed positive developments in the Vietnam-US comprehensivepartnership over the past time, with two-way trade growing impressively,hitting 123 billion USD last year.
Both highlighted collaboration in the COVID-19 combat,as well as the efficiency of cooperation projects on addressing war legacies,notably the one on dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa Airport, along with theincreasing number of Vietnamese students in the US.
Vietnam always considers the US a leading importantpartner and wishes to enhance the comprehensive partnership on the basis ofmutual benefits, and respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrityand political institutions of each other, Son said.
He lauded the coordination between the VietnameseMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State over the past time,emphasising Blinken’s role in promoting the bilateral ties, including the recentphone talks between Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President JoeBiden, contributing to consolidating trust, creating more momentum, and openinga new period for cooperation between the two countries.
The FM suggested the two sides step up all-leveldelegation exchanges and contacts this year which marks the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive partnership, and deepen the bilateral relationspractically, for mutual benefits, and for peace, stability, cooperation anddevelopment in the region and the world at large.
Blinken, for his part, affirmed the importance the USattaches to the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam, andcommended Vietnam’s dynamic development, role and position in the region.
He stressed the US’s commitment to respectingpolitical institutions, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity ofVietnam, and supporting a strong, independent, self-resilient and prosperous Vietnam.
The US will set aside more resources and budget to helpVietnam settle war consequences, and further bilateral cooperation in importantfields such as trade-investment, science-technology, digital transformation, greentransition, and high-quality personnel training in serve of the country’sdevelopment, he noted.
The two sides also compared notes on regional and internationalissues of shared concern.
Son suggested the US continue its active role tocontribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development inAsia-Pacific, Indian Ocean and the world as well.
Blinken said the US backs ASEAN’s centrality in theregion, and will work harder to promote cooperation within the framework of theASEAN-US comprehensive strategic partnership.
The US also supports the Mekong-US partnership,climate efforts and UN peacekeeping operations, he continued.
Regarding the East Sea issue, they agreed on theimportance of peace, security, stability and freedom of navigation and aviationin the waters, addressing disputes through peaceful measures in line withinternational law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (1982 UNCLOS), and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the East Sea (DOC), towards an effective and substantive Code ofConduct in the East Sea (COC)./.
VNA
